


Chasing Stars

by liccy



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, But you won't drown in it, Gen, Haven't written in over a decade, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, I mean... it has Wild so of course there's angst, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Ruining people's characterizations here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-12 22:56:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18456314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liccy/pseuds/liccy
Summary: "You're Called Wild for a reason, I guess."





	Chasing Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Linked Universe](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/472544) by JoJo. 



> Inspired by the AU over at Tumblr. Gods, of all the fandom's I'm currently on, I choose this as my intro back to fanfiction piece. I had other scenarios I wanted to expand on, but this one took over my Muse. Enjoy, or not.

His lungs burned as he took in gulps of air, wincing in pain at every second breath when it over-stretched the muscles near his bruised ribs. Being hit by a tree wasn’t always an enjoyable experience. Bruised and a bit bloody, Wild rolled onto his back and waited until his pounding heart moved away from his ears and back to his chest where it belonged. He got what he wanted. Beside him sat the cooling and slightly glowing fragment of a star he had seen fall earlier. Of course, it was his dumb luck that it apparently landed next to a Blue Hinox. That, in itself, wouldn’t have been so bad, but the Hinox was apparently obstructing the view of a small moblin camp. The nightly stalkoblins, crawling out of the ground, just made it a big party. His hair was muddy and tangled, and he had a leaf or two stuck between the strands. The adrenaline was slowly leaving his system and he was beginning to feel the actual cold of the night’s air. He just needed a moment to gather up the strength and stamina to sit up, then maybe a few more moments more to stand up and make his way back to camp with the others. For now, he just stared blankly up at the spotted sky, grinning so hard his cheeks were beginning to ache as well. 

Oh Hylia, he needed this. 

Of course, like all things, his fun never lasted long and he felt a chill of dread run down his spine as suddenly a face hovered over his own. The disapproving and annoyed face of that of his mentor. 

Oh Hylia, was he in trouble. 

Straining, and with a pained groan, Wild forced himself to sit up, and gave a wavering smile at the older teen. He knew he’d probably not get any pity, but hopefully the show of pain was enough to at least keep the yelling down a bit. 

“Uh.. hey, Twi. Nice …night?” 

The other boy had not shifted from his stance; arms folded and his nose slightly turned up in intimidation. He had a slight snarl on his lips that showed a bit of fang, and loud, deep breaths huffed forcefully from his nose. Oh yeah, Twilight was pissed.

“I don’t even know where to start!” The fur-clad Hylian growled. “You suddenly run off, without any explanation… Then I find you on the ground, bleeding looking like you just fought Gannon, only to see you have the biggest shit-eating grin… What were you thinking?”

“I said I’d be back by mor--“

“I don’t want to hear it! I want an explanation! 

Turning his head to the side, Wild looked away with a frustrated huff. His lips thinned, holding back any nonsensical noises that threatened to come out of his mouth because he didn’t really know what to tell the older hero. Truth be told, he himself didn’t know what he was thinking, or even if he was thinking in the first place. All he knew is that he just needed to do something. He just had to. He saw a star fall and suddenly he was overwhelmed with sudden need to go after it, like old times. 

“I….” 

Nope, nothing was coming out. He just ends up shrugging, still not able to look his friend in the eye. He didn’t know what to say to make the other just understand. Something in him demanded that he’d run, fight, climb in the rain, scream…. Anything! Otherwise he would have burst like a rusty broadsword against a Talus. Personally, he was a bit miffed that the other didn’t acknowledge that, at least this time, he made sure he told the others that he’d be back later. That should have earned him some points, right? Okay. Not really. Mentally shaking his head, he knew he was in the wrong. It was the Calamity all over again. He had a duty. Has a duty. Now, it was his task to stay with the others and help them with the quest entrusted to them. His role was to be the hero again and protect the others. But… just like before, instead of focusing on his task, he decided to venture anywhere else to explore! There was a reason the Goddess brought them together, and running off on his own could’ve put him in danger… or worse, put the others in danger. Sighing, he hung his head feeling shamed. Twilight has every right to be angry and disappointed in him. Even he was disappointed in himself. From what Zelda and Impa had told him about his “past life,” Wild knew that even his previous self would’ve been the most disappointed of them all. From the perfect soldier to a selfish brat, that’s what he’s become. He was no hero. His hands clenched tightly in anger and frustration as these thoughts as they began to swarm around his head. It wasn’t until he felt the warmth of another’s hand, over his own, that he snapped out of his thoughts and it brought with it a sense of calm. Following the limb, Wild sheepishly looked up at his mentor, whom was giving him a tired but worried smile.

“Take a deep breath. I just want to know. You scared us back there. You scared me.” 

Now, if that wasn’t the biggest energy drainer. Feeling his shoulders slump and slouch, the younger was able to take in a deep breath, finally feeling his nerves steady and his heart rate calm back down. Able to finally calm his rushing thoughts, an idea begins to softly whispers in his mind about what may have happened. It sounded logical, although it would be embarrassing to admit. Still, he knew he owed it to Twilight to explain himself. He definitely hadn’t meant to scare anyone, especially not him. Feeling his face warm slightly he uses his free hand to nervously rub at his neck. 

“I guess… I was just… bored? I… I think?” 

For Twilight, it took every ounce of his willpower to not shout out in disbelief. He knew that if he did so, Wild would instantly clam up, and something in him told him there was more to what Wild was telling him. At least he hoped there was, because otherwise… well… otherwise. Taking his own deep breaths, he plopped down in front of his protégé, and gives the other boy’s hand a squeeze to encourage the other to continue. 

Looking up, there must have been something within Twilight’s expression because Wild’s eyes suddenly widened and his own free hand grasped the other’s, giving a desperate but still light squeeze. “Wait! I-I didn’t mean! Not bored of you guys! You guys are Great! Really! I like having someone to t-talk to… someone t-to worry … about.” Someone to worry about me - was left unsaid since at the same time, he also didn’t want the others to worry about him. It was complicated. Taking a deep breath, he gently pulls his hands away from Twilight, only to then pat the other’s hand in reassurance. He needed to use his hands for the rest. His throat was beginning to ache, and he felt he was more focused when signing. He didn’t want to stumble and stutter what he was going to say next. He needed Twilight to not misunderstand nor worry… nor ever have that hurt expression he briefly showed just moments ago. 

_“Didn’t mean bored. Restless is a better word. Before, I’m always running about, sometimes all night, going wherever. One end of the map to another. I’d seek out monsters to fight for fun and didn’t have to worry about anyone else getting hurt. Now? I like how it is now too. Everyone is great. I’m having fun. I feel safer, happy, but I’m still trying to get used to all this. I can’t burn off energy like before. I try by cooking, training with the others, jumping, but it’s not enough. I don’t want to say anything because everyone is worried about our main quest, but it gets too much that I sometimes feel trapped.”_

Looking at the older companion, Wild felt a different type of jitteriness at Twilight’s current expression. Wild knew he wasn’t really that experienced with social cues or interaction, so identifying expressions was still fairly new to him…. but from the tightly pained look (and he knew what pain looked and felt like) on Twilight’s face, Wild was guessing it wasn’t really a good expression. At least he had thought it wasn’t until a chuckle burst forth and Twilight immediately slumped down where he sat. When the older looked back up again, the closest way to describe the other’s expression would be defeated but amused. 

“You are called Wild for a reason, I guess. I can’t believe I… Ugh! Some mentor I’m turning out to be.” Twilight quickly raised his hand to hold back the protesting shout Wild gave upon hearing those words. “I don’t think there was a time you were able to sit still for more than a few minutes. Looking back, I must admit, that I too was enjoying how fast paced everything was. The openness of it all was just … Then again, I was also busy trying to make sure you didn’t get yourself killed to pay much attention to something that wasn’t really life-threatening at the time. It also explains some of the insane stunts you pulled that you thought would be entertaining. Some… not all. My heart’s still recovering from the time you jumped off Dueling peeks and waited for the very last HYLIA DAMNED SECOND TO DEPLOY YOUR GLIDER!” Leaning back, Twilight took in a deep breath, forcing his nerves to calm down, while also ignoring how his eye twitched at the younger boy’s giggling. A mentor had to multitask right? Shaking his head, he looked back at his humored protégé and tried to give his best unamused glare; A look that he had inwardly hoped could rival what Time would give him. Unfortunately, from the reaction Wild gave (a loud, ugly Bokoblin-like snort bursting out from the cub’s mouth, then curling up to hold his pained sides from the hilarity) Twilight probably needed to practice it more. 

Sighing, Twilight shook his head and stood, holding his hand out to help the other boy up. He could see, in the horizon, the oranges and yellow beginning to glow against the blue. Morning was approaching and a certain someone had a deadline to keep. 

“C’mon. Lets head back. I think that star has cooled down enough that it won’t disintegrate. I thought you upgraded all your armor already?” 

Remembering his prize, Wild plucked the fragment from the ground with one hand and grasped the reaching hand with the other, allowing himself to be pulled back onto his feet. Sweeping off some debris from his clothing, the newest hero made his way next to the older one, as smile on his face. 

“Not all of them, but …. Well… they always say ‘Reach for the stars,’ right?”

“…… That joke is as old as time itself, you know.” 

“Haha, I’ll tell him you said that.”


End file.
